nyc, day one (june 18, 2012)

[Rockefeller Centre, Chinatown, SoHo, East Village]

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love NYC. It used to be a far of dream of mine to someday visit the city. Now that I've experienced that reality, my new (hopefully not so far off?) dream is to someday live there. The city is just incredible.

So.

Day One started with the Top of the Rock. We managed to go early enough to beat the crowds, and let me tell you - it was worth the exhaustion. (we took the subway from 23 Street which was about 3 blocks from our hotel)

Seeing the city from so high was just stunning.

Being up there without a million tourists: priceless.

Seriously, do Top of the Rock. We didn't visit the Empire State Building so I can't say from experience but I do believe that the Top of the Rock is the better of the two observation decks. I mean, you can see the Empire State Building from Top of the Rock. Also, you get (I imagine) a better view of Central Park.

Afterwards, we took the subway downtown to Union Square and proceeded to wander the East Village. While we didn't spend much time in the East Village, I quite enjoyed it. Parts were definitely a bit more well-worn than other areas of the city but it definitely had it's own charms. We ate at the famous Katz' Delicatessen (we had to try some real Jewish deli) and it was definitely worth it. We split one pastrami sandwich between the two of us and still hardly finished. I probably wouldn't get one again (I quite like veggies on my sandwiches) but it was worth trying once.

After lunch we started wandering eastward and found ourselves in Chinatown. Oh my gosh was Chinatown everything my heart imagined and more. I even had an old Chinese lady walk up beside me, lean in, and ask if I wanted watches. It was like I was in a movie! But seriously. We (Bailey) bartered in the shops and got some I Love NYC shirts for decent prices along with a couple other things. All in all, quite successful.

We ended up spending the rest of the day wandering SoHo and doing some shopping and finished it all off with supper at Dos Caminos. (it was good but not great. definitely a bit pricer than i thought it deserved. but if you want to check it out: 475 west broadway at houston st. get the frozen prickly cactus margarita)

Let's just say that I already started plotting how I will return to this amazing city before day one was even over.

daily costs: top of the rock: $23 / 7 day metro card: $29 / food: ~$40 each

accommodations: chelsea highline hotel. it was the cheapest we could find and it was alright. i wouldn't necessarily recommend it but i also would't discourage anybody from staying there, you know? actually, the location was pretty rad. so maybe i would recommend it. 

other recommendations: COMFORTABLE SHOES. we both ended up buying toms in soho, our feet hurt so much. worth every penny.